


Waiting

by SecondSilk



Category: Harry Potter - Rowling
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-09-15
Updated: 2010-09-15
Packaged: 2017-10-11 20:48:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/116945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SecondSilk/pseuds/SecondSilk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for Emerald's triumphant return to the internets! Based mostly on in-jokes and roleplay characterisation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Waiting

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Emeraldgreen](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Emeraldgreen).



James found Regulus by the lake sitting on a rock and staring moodily at the water. Regulus's robes were standard issues Hogwarts black, but they lacked a certain sort of shine or allure that James was used to seeing on Regulus. He stopped a couple of feet away from the rock. He crossed his arms against the desire to run his fingers through Regulus's hair in a comforting way.

"What's wrong?" he demanded.

"They're gone," Regulus said, waving his hand to take in the whole world.  
James looked around them: the castle and the grass, the lake and the forest. It looked perfectly normal under a dim, overcast sky.

"What's gone?"

Regulus's sighed, petulant and frustrated. It was an ugly sound.

"The sparkles," he said, waving his hand again.

"The sparkles," James repeated dumbly, fighting the panic crowding into his brain. Regulus couldn't actually mean what he said. That was impossible, horrible, ordinary and not fun.

"We've dealt with that before," he said.

He gave into temptation and took a seat on the rock next to Regulus and draped an arm over the younger boy's shoulders. Regulus snuggled into his side, but did not look any happier.

"We haven't dealt with anything like this," Regulus said. He shivered slightly and whispered, "All my frilly knickers."

James unconsciously tightened his grip around Regulus. Regulus wasn't really his Regulus without his sparkly knickers.

Even when whoever was writing them specifically mentioned that Regulus's underclothes were neither frilly nor sparkly, Emerald would be there, writing to put things right. But if she was missing, and all of Regulus's frilly knickers with her… James made a soft, pained sound, and Regulus's nodded against his chest.

James watched the still surface of the lake and waited for something to change.

"So, ah, what sort of underwear are you wearing?" James asked, eventually.

"None."

"Oh."

"Yeah," Regulus said, sounding far more wretched than James suddenly felt.

James rubbed Regulus's shoulder and tried to cajole Regulus out of his funk with some bad jokes and half-hearted insults. But it seemed that Regulus without his sparkly knickers really wasn't his Regulus at all.

"We'll have to wait til she comes back," Regulus said.

"Yeah," James agreed, glumly.


End file.
